Week 37: SAFARI!

My first visitors from the states arrived! My adventurous parents arrived in Botswana and the visit was complete with dancing at a traditional Wedding, my dad inadvertently agreeing to take people back to the States, and an amazing Safari trip. We spent three nights at the Mosetlha Bush camp in Medikwe Game Reserve, which is just over the border into South Africa. On our game drives we saw Lions, Cheetahs, Elephants, Giraffes, Zebras, and a slew of other exciting animals. The camp we stayed at is sans running water or electricity but at night it is lit with a plethora of oil lamps that gives the camp a magical feel and through the owners ingenuity there are hot showers (this involves a donkey boiler and some jerry rigged buckets). The cabin that we stayed in was complete with a friendly welcoming crew of bush babies, a small nocturnal primate that has huge eyes and is a very respectful roommate. Our days started with a 5:45 wake up call from our ranger and a 6:15 departure for our first four-hour game drive of the day. On the drive we usually got to watch the sun rise and midway through we would stop for tea and rusks (a somewhat biscotti like breakfast bar). Then it was back to the camp for a relaxing communal breakfast, downtime, lunch and then at 4:00 it was time for the second four hour game drive, where we got to watch the sun set and track leopards!, see various animals at the watering hole and enjoy the breath taking views. After the second game drive it was time to sit around the fire, share stories with the other guests and enjoy dinner. Highlights included following a band of male cheetah’s as they prepared for a hunt, seeing wild dogs (which are an endangered species due in part to rabies, however all I could think of was Brigette Jones “To be eaten by wild dogs”), and baby elephants learning how to use their trunks.

Thank you to everyone to sent school supplies and other treats. The kids are very excited for the supplies and I am already happily munching, decorating my house, and wearing my new goods.

Week 36: “Standing Outside the Fire”

  I feel like I am where I am supposed to be at this point in my life, however, that doesn’t mean that some days are hard, really hard and then others are great. I went to see a friend in her village this week and we were sitting on her front stoop listening to music when “Standing Outside the Fire” came on and I was reminded why I decided to join the Peace Corps. Every moment of every day may not be fulfilling and life altering but I am reminded of a professor I had at University who would remind us to “Not loose the forest to the trees.” When I get caught up in the day-to-day, I loose sight of the forest and the amazing experience I am having. I get caught up in the fact that I am missing my friends’ graduations, going to brunch in wicker park, and being in the same time zone as most of my family. However, what I am gaining is so much more, when I return my friends will still have their degrees, brunch can always be had, and my family will be a phone call away. In the mean time I am having enriching experiences that are cushioned by a lot of downtime where I get to fill my day with whatever I please.

This week the students were on holiday for Easter and thus there was not a lot of work to be had in Moshana. Consequently I set off to Kanye in hopes of getting paint donated for a world map project I am trying to complete at the school. As I walked into my first hardware store, I was reminded how much I dislike asking people for things especially donations. However, I was met with a generous shop keeper who after a very confusing conversation for me, donated 20liters of paint and various other supplies. I was touched by this mans’ kindness and so excited for the project to get off the ground. When the man asked where my car was parked so he could carry the paint to it, I laughed and said I was taking the bus. This was quickly deemed not a great idea and a friend of mine came to my rescue with her car. If only I was better at carrying things on my head, I am sure I could have maneuvered the paint.

Week 35: Confinement

In Tswana culture it is tradition for a woman to stay inside her house (or her mother’s house) for three months after giving birth. At this point in my life I cannot imagine having a baby and equally so I cannot imagine staying inside for three months. I got a bit sick this week and as a result spent two days in my house leaving only to use the pit latrine and refill my water buckets. The first day of this, I was also quite disoriented, slept most of the day and when I did wake up and looked at the time I was always confused as to am or pm and what day of the week it was. Day two I read the majority of Call the Midwife, baked bread, did some writing, watched the Darjeeling Limited cleaned up a bit from the sickcapedes the day before, all with frequent intermitted rest breaks and still I was quite restless and grateful it was only a 48 hour type of thing.

“I’m your Doctor” These were the words my landlady proclaimed as she lovingly raced towards my door. My land lady is the sweetest and this week when I was sick she took over checking in on me and much to my disliking making me drink oral rehydration salts as well as gave me an intestine rub. I was able to stave off her efforts to take me to the clinic (Peace Corps has their own doctors that they pay for insurance and paperwork reasons) In my effort to dissuade her giving me drugs I showed her my Peace Corps medical kit, which I felt demanded too much energy for me to go through, as a result I could see her out of the corner of my eye going through the kit and in my head I remember thinking, oh it would be so much easier for me to read through the labels they are all in English, however, I was passed out on my bed and could not muster the energy to walk the few steps towards her. In the end she came over with what looked like allergy medicine and I was able to thank her for all of her hard work and ask if I could see the kit, so as not to be pill popping inappropriate medication, of course I left the last bit off. My energy was then completely depleted by the Med Kit fiasco and when she tried to give me an intestine/tummy rub, I was all hers and in my sick stupor this did not even seem strange to me. Seeing that what ever was wrong passed, perhaps it was all the intestine rub and I have my land lady to thank for that.

Week 34: The Power of Prayer

I was raised Catholic, however, I no longer identify with the Catholic faith and have not identified with any organized religion for sometime. This may seem contrary to the title of this post, however, I have been continually struck by the power of seeing women come together in prayer (I can only speak to women coming together, because those are the circles that I am invited into) and I felt it was time I shared this feeling. Earlier in the term one of the teachers from Modisi went on medical leave and this week three teachers and I went to visit her in the hospital. She was very happy to see us and everyone chatted cheerfully for the hour long visit. At the end when the teachers and I stood to leave, everyone clasped hands and started to pray. Each teacher murmuring their own prayer to themselves as we all stood around the hospital bed. Although the words of the prayers were in an incoherent Setswana to my ears and the god they were addressing does not hold meaning in the same way for me, the weight of their actions was not lost on me and I was touched by the beauty of the moment. To be surrounded by people who care about you calling on a strength greater than themselves to ease your pain and quicken your recovery is a beautiful thing to me, and I feel lucky to have been a part of it. The teachers were happy I wanted to come and the teacher we were visiting was excited to see me, however, most of the visit was in Setswana of which I understood little. I felt like a guest at an intimate moment and truly lucky to have borne witness to it. In the moment of prayer I could feel the love in the room and was grateful to these people who let me into their circles.

During the same hospital visit, a woman dropped off a flower and said “she died last night.” Our teacher friend explained that she had made friends with the woman next door who was dying of cancer and as she said this she began to tear up. To me this was a reminder of how our lives touch others and even until the very end we have the capacity to affect those around us, for better or worse. I hope when possible people choose for the better.

On a lighter note, I had a small dinner party this week with a few PCV friends and another new American friend I made. My menu was very similar to what I usually make in the states (Risotto, dark chocolate almond biscotti, and roasted butternut squash). The only difference is when a friend asked what she should bring, instead of answering “just you!” I asked if she could bring a plate. More often then not I am cooking for one so the fact that I have a four set of forks, knives, and spoons seems a bit odd but came in handy this week and the thought of having 4 plates just seems like they would take up more space then they are worth. If this becomes a regular occurrence perhaps I will buy more, however, I think it will really just encourage me to do my dishes less since one friend traveled 10 hours by bus to see me and my other friend has waited over 6 hours to get a hitch out of her village. Needless to say I think my two plates will continue to suffice.

Week 33: “Go alone and you will go fast, go together and you will go far.” (Harder than it sounds…)

There is a saying that what takes a day in the States takes a week in Africa, what takes a week, takes a month, what takes a month takes a year. The saying relates to the infrastructure present as well as cultural differences. I thought this was offensive and did not understand it, until now. This past week I had to submit my quarterly report for Peace Corps as well as having multiple programs and events that I have been planning get rescheduled, some for the fourth or fifth time. I was at the end of my rope, until I remembered the above saying. I know that I need to take a deep breath and remain calm, however, the American in me as well as my personality in general cannot help but feel self-conscious as I look at my quarterly report and think that’s all I have done in the last few months and I just want to tack on an addendum explaining myself and offering excuses. I know that peace corps understands this and that every site is different, so even as my friends text me all of their triumphs, I should remember the calming words I share with others, that we all have our own time lines. But this week I cannot help but be frustrated with my seemingly slow timeline. I just want to complain and say that I am doing the best I can with what I have, I do not know what more I could do. It is time to turn in my report, take a step back, and reflect on all that I have done that could not fit into the electronic data base. Maybe our funding sources do not care about the funerals I attended or the yoga I have taught, but I know that my friends in Moshana do. This is not the first time I have tried to measure my success by words on a piece of paper, but I guess it’s a lesson I continue to have to learn. Even though I could have done more events, if I was the only one planning them, that would not be sustainable and makes me think of the African proverb, “Go alone and you will go fast, go together and you will go far.”

Week 32: Learning to Navigate Events and Dog Sitting Around the World

This was a productive week. I had many rewarding classes in the library our school was under inspection and the inspector complimented me on my teaching style and lesson plans. On Friday we had a drug and alcohol abuse awareness event, which began with a march around the community and was complete with motivational speakers. Although I am sure that many students fell asleep or were more interested in poking their neighbors arm, I still feel that it was a successful event. I was also proud of myself in the progress I have made towards navigating such events. As a personal preference, I prefer not to sit at the high table with all the big wigs, as I have learned not to get bought in by the fact that those people are served snacks. Instead I prefer to be able to bounce around during events, checking on the cooking in kitchen (but not getting sucked into chopping cabbage for 3 hours while everyone laughs at my technique), chatting with teachers who are “setting up” for the after event meal, or just generally moving around greeting friends from the community as they drift through.

Over the weekend I was dog sitting for a peace corps friend in a neighboring village, which as my mother pointed out I have been known to do where ever I am living (ie North Carolina, Chicago, Botswana etc). This is the second time dog sitting for this friend and the second time I have missed the combi stop to her house and as a result I have now had multiple tours of the entire village, it is quite cute! Although I feel that I am gaining a reputation in the village for my absentmindedness, I swear the clinic looks different every time I pass it!